


You Captured My Soul

by AussieSass



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clarke is a hot mess, Clexa, F/F, Lexa is a dork, Mostly Fluff, a fairly slow burn, be prepared to cringe at some awful flirting and lame puns, but not really, maybe some really mild smut in later chaps, sort of an office romance, wont be too much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-21 20:58:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11365497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AussieSass/pseuds/AussieSass
Summary: Lexa is in her final year at Arkadia University, and has just landed herself an internship with the most prestigious publisher in the country: Polis Publishing House. Life as an intern has been… boring as hell if Lexa’s being completely honest, but her boss is finally giving her a chance to prove herself. All she needs to do is find the mysterious author Wanheda, get her to sign a contract, and publish a book worthy of the best-sellers list. Piece of cake. Lexa knows that working with Wanheda could make or break her career, but the author turns out to have a much bigger effect on her life than she could ever have imagined.Just an FYI this fic seems to be on a bit of a hiatus... but i promise i will finish it. Eventually.





	1. Where It All Started

This… this was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She knew it wouldn’t be an easy task, or even an interesting one for that matter, but it was beginning to feel impossible. Lexa pulled in a deep breath, held it, and then released it in an attempt to re-focus her mind. She had been tasked with sifting through the reject pile for the last week in a desperate attempt to find the diamond in the rough. But it was very, _very_ rough. Her eyes burned, her head throbbed and her hands were littered with papercuts. She grabbed the next manuscript, and prayed to the gods she didn’t believe in that this one was at least written by someone with basic literacy skills. It was all in the grammar: the writers that know their shit, and those that know they’re shit.

The pages were neatly bound, which always made Lexa’s life a little easier, but the book appeared to be untitled. Not a promising start. Flipping through the manuscript the first thing Lexa noticed was the little doodles in the margins of some of the pages. Well, doodle doesn’t quite do it justice, these were full blown works of art in miniature. A soulful face filled with tears and sorrow, two exquisite wedding bands abandoned on a table, the silhouette of a lone figure leaning against a leafless tree, branches warped and twisted.  
  
As Lexa flicked on through she noticed something interesting: a little further along the images incited less painful emotions, emanating more sensuality than anything else. One might even call it ‘lustful’, Lexa thought, as she eyed two lovers tangled together. Toward the end of the manuscript, the emphasis of the drawings turned away from the physical and developed into something more emotive. Two hands clasped together, another face but this time eyes shining with affection.

It was certainly unusual, but it gave Lexa hope that the story within might not be entirely without merit. Perhaps Lexa had finally found a story she could sink her teeth into. With renewed enthusiasm, Lexa returned to the start of the book and began reading.  

A knock on her office door frame startled Lexa away from the manuscript, and she looked up to see the strikingly dark and imposing figure of her boss standing in the doorway.

“Find something interesting there Woods?” The look on the Indra’s face indicated she thought it highly unlikely.

Lexa sighed “Perhaps. I have only just begun this one, but it doesn’t seem to be a completely lost cause. It does hold a certain... promise.’’

The raise of a solitary eyebrow was the only response she received from Indra. Lexa looked at the small clock on her desk, which showed it was approaching lunch-time. Perhaps the manuscript was better than she originally thought - she’d lost nearly two hours to the book without realizing it.

“Mr Pike will be coming by shortly to discuss his new series, and I would like you to sit in on the meeting. Working directly with your authors is an important skill to learn, as they often require a strong, guiding hand. We will begin in the meeting room in 15 minutes.”

Lexa bit her lip to clamp down on the excited grin that was threatening to spread across her face. This was it, her opportunity to prove to Indra she could take on more challenging work. It was a test, and she was going to make sure she aced it, flying pride flag and all.

“Of course Indra. I will head over momentarily.”

Lexa watched the retreating form of her boss, before she eagerly logged onto the system and looked up this author. Charles Pike had written two young adult trilogies, one revolving around the travels of a young (in looks only) brooding vampire ~~sleeping~~ travelling around Europe “looking for his soulmate”, the other a spy series following another young man using his super-strength to save the world. Nothing particularly Earth-shattering, but they did paint a very clear picture of Pike.

He certainly appeared to hold very little respect for the women in his stories as they were rarely more than one-dimensional bimbos serving as momentary distractions for the protagonist. The majority of his character’s problems are solved with violence and brute strength instead of logic and reason. Authors often give away a lot about themselves when they write, and Pike did not sound like a particularly pleasant man. In fact, he sounded like douche-canoe.

Lexa made herself a tea before heading into the meeting room in the centre of the office. It was made up of four soundproof glass walls, and she wondered if it made anyone else feel like a goldfish swimming around a bowl. Before the other two arrived, Lexa took a moment to check her reflection in the window. She brushed some (non-existent) wrinkles from her shirt, and made it was neatly tucked into her fitted pants. She had opted to wear her hair up, with a few braids woven in the left side.

Lexa spun around as Indra led a well-built man into the fishbowl, and introduced him as Charles Pike. He gave her such a sleazy visual appraisal that Lexa felt an almost visceral need to shower and scrub it off. In an attempt to maintain an air of professionalism, she reached forward to shake Pike’s hand. Lexa regretted it immediately. Pike’s hand was limp and sweaty, and his self-satisfied smirk only grew when their hands made contact.

“Nice to meet you…?” He paused with his lips halfway to the back of her hand, waiting for her name, which Indra had literally just told him.

“Lexa Woods” she replied, tugging her hand out of his slimy grasp before he could molest it further.

“Please take a seat Charles. I’m told you have a proposal for your next series?” Lexa would forever be in Indra’s debt for distracting Pike. She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d have done if he had continued mentally undressing her, only that it would have included forcefully introducing her foot to some of his more sensitive areas.

True to form, Pike chose to make himself at home in the chair at the head of the table while Indra lowered herself into the seat to beside him. Lexa decided to play it safe and sat furthest away at her boss’s right hand side. The author launched into his story about a group of adolescent trouble makers being sent to the Earth from an orbiting space station. An experiment, to see if the ground was survivable after an all-out nuclear war decades earlier. Only the ground wasn’t as uninhabited as the delinquents had been led to believe. He described some of the characters, with the main protagonist, surprise surprise, being a curly haired boy-man with a penchant for automatic rifles and bad habit of provoking the locals.

After a lengthy discussion clarifying some of the plot points, Indra turned to Lexa asking for her thoughts.

“This Eliza Taylor character sounds like she’d make a much better leader to the Delinquents. She’s smart, independent and willing to reason with the Grounders. I’m not sure how plausible it is to have a bunch of rebellious teens winning a war against seasoned warriors on their own turf. Perhaps Eliza could try to negotiate a truce with these Grounders?”

Pike had grown oddly silent, a shocked expression dominating his features. He regarded Lexa briefly, before bursting into raucous laughter.

“You want a girl to lead the Delinquents? Hahaha I can’t … hahaha I can’t even breathe… that’s just... haha... hilarious.” There were even tears running down his face.

Indra on the other hand looked mildly impressed.

“Lexa has a point you know Charles. Eliza does seem like the kind of character your readers would find… Appealing. And I’m sure a writer of your calibre could easily rise to the challenge of creating a strong, successful, female leader. One who wins wars with brains rather than brawn. Or would that be a little out of your wheelhouse?”

Pike positively preened under Indra’s praise. It was slightly disturbing how quickly the man bent to Indra’s will, but she had been working with him for some time and had obviously learned which buttons to push.

“Of course it’s not Indra. With writing like mine, the readers will easily be able to suspend any disbelief they hold surrounding a girl’s capability to lead. We’ll make feminists out of them yet.”

At that, Lexa clenched her jaw so hard she thought she might crack a tooth. Indra proposed a timeline for chapters to be submitted, which Pike seemed adamant about extending. Anyone would think he was nervous. As the meeting closed Lexa managed to avoid shaking Pike’s grubby little hand again, and was relieved when Indra volunteered to walk the man out.

Later that afternoon Lexa had returned to the untitled novel, and was on her way to becoming entirely engrossed in the story when Indra stopped by her office again.

“So what did you think of our Mr Pike?” There was a slight smirk on Indra’s face, which gave Lexa the feeling that this conversation could lead to some dangerous waters. Lexa decided to tread carefully with her response.

“He is certainly an…” ignorant, asinine, chauvinistic and generally revolting “interesting man. I was a little surprised to find his work under this imprint, it doesn’t seem the most obvious fit.” Lexa sent her boss a questioning look in hopes of discovering why someone like Pike would be working with an imprint known for its pro-feminist and generally rather intelligent publications. Indra sighed, and seemed to weigh up her subordinate’s unspoken query.

“Jaha’s son was quite the fan in his younger years.”

“Oh, I was unaware Jaha had a son.” Lexa thought back to her conversations with the imprint’s director, but couldn’t think of an occasion where a son had been mentioned.

“He doesn’t, at least, not anymore.”

Lexa mulled that information over, trying to decide upon the underlying meaning behind Indra’s words.

“Lexa, I know you’re looking to eventually move into an editorial role once you finish with your studies, and I am aware you only work here part-time, but how would you feel about taking on a client?”

That was the last thing Lexa had been expecting Indra to say. It was unheard of. She was an intern, a part-time intern at that. Her jaw was threatening to hit the desk if she didn’t do something soon.

She swallowed harshly, and attempted to keep her face neutral, lest the undignified squeal she was desperately trying to keep contained burst free.

“That would be quite the opportunity, I feel honoured.” There, that was a respectable response.

“Good. I’ll let Mr Pike know you will be taking over from here.”

_WHAT?! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Argh Indra you sly little-_

“Thank you Indra. I truly appreciate the faith you have in my ability to manage such a large project.” She even managed small smile. At least she hoped it was a smile and not the enraged grimace she felt like displaying. “However, I really think this manuscript shows immense promise and may be a more appropriate project for me to begin with, both the author and myself being new to the process. There would also be much less backlash for the imprint if it doesn’t go quite to plan.” For the second time that day Lexa found herself praying. Maybe she should look into the whole religion thing.

Indra raised an eyebrow at Lexa, and took a beat to consider her response. She moved a step closer to Lexa’s desk, looking over the manuscript’s cover page.

“Fine. You have till first thing Monday morning to get the author on board or you will work with Mr Pike. Fair?”

“Yes, more than fair. I won’t let you down.”

Now all she had to do was find out who this Wanheda person is, and convince them to work with a highly inexperienced editor. In three days. No sweat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew… you made it to the end. You deserve a medal. If my horrible puns and questionable writing haven’t scared you off yet, please leave a comment. Any and all thoughts, comments and questions are welcome. Please do bear in mind that this is my first fic (second that I’ve posted, but the first one I wrote) and that I am a somewhat green writer. Very green. I’m practically a smurf with jaundice. Anywho, I plan to keep a bi-weekly update schedule (cos I’m lazy af) so… we’ll see how long that lasts.
> 
> Oh – nearly forgot. I’m aussie-sass on tumblr if you wanna chat about this, or anything else :D


	2. The First Meeting

It was useless. Completely, utterly, entirely useless. An exercise in futility. Thoroughly pointless. Lexa could not for the life of her find Wanheda. She had Googled, Facebooked, Twittered, Tumblred and Instagrammed. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a whisper. She sighed and sunk further into the couch, shutting her laptop. It was time for a new plan.

Since Indra threw down the challenge on Thursday, Lexa had done nothing but search every known social media platform, fan fiction archive and writer’s forum for any trace of the mysterious author. It was obviously a _nom de plume_ , but she (Lexa was sure the author was a she) may have written elsewhere. Perhaps even left a trail behind that Lexa could use to get in contact. But there was absolutely no trace of the author whatsoever. Wanheda’s client file simply stated the manuscript had been received by mail, with no further information on the author. Not even a return address. Goddamn snail mail. At least emails came with the sender’s address.

Resigning herself to the fact there was nothing more she could do for the moment, Lexa pushed herself off the couch with an exaggerated huff and prepared to meet Anya. They had arranged to meet at the gym for their weekly catch-up.

Moving into her bedroom Lexa pulled her favourite pair of black compression leggings from her draw, shimmying around in an incredibly undignified attempt to get them on before she donned a light blue tank top. Her sneakers were neatly lined up by her door, so all she had to do was grab a water bottle and her kit bag before she headed out.

\-------------------------------------

Halfway through her set Lexa gently placed the bar on the rack and stared incredulously up at Anya, who had been spotting the weight.

“Jesus Anya, are you serious?! That is _so_ illegal!”

“Oh come on Lexa. When has the law ever done anything for us? Besides, all you need to do is forge a signature on one little contract. And then when you actually do find the mysterious Wanheda, swap it out for the real thing. You’re just buying a little time.”

While she could see the logic to Anya’s plan, Lexa could also see it biting her in the ass big time in the future.

“More like selling my soul.”

“God you’re so melodramatic.” The eye roll she got from Anya was quite impressive. In fact, Lexa would bet good money that she could see her own brain.

“So what exactly am I supposed to do if can’t find her? Or if I do find her and she wants nothing to do with me, or the imprint? How do I explain the situation to Indra if Wanheda decides to go with another publisher?” Lexa raised an eyebrow in silent challenge, daring Anya to try and prove her wrong, but she merely conceded the point with curt nod.

Lexa returned to her bench press, hoping to curtail this line thought. Dubious ethics aside, she actually really wanted to meet the person behind the book. Wanheda clearly had an incredibly beautiful mind, a deep insight in to human relations. Lexa was intrigued to say the least.

The rest of the session passed in relative ease for the two women, sharing easy banter borne of a sense of familiarity and trust between them.

With her body sufficiently spent, Lexa could feel the stress over the events of the last few days melting away.

As she was leaving the gym with Anya, a small commotion by the back wall caught her attention. She could see a blonde and a brunette vigorously arguing, wild gestures and raised voices evident, but it was one word in particular the caught her attention, causing her to stop dead in her tracks:

_Wanheda._

“Did you hear that?” When all she received in return was silence, Lexa looked around for Anya but she had wandered off to flirt with the receptionist. Lexa was pretty sure she was the only reason Anya even came to the gym these days.

She turned back to the two women arguing on the far side of the gym. As she looked more closely, Lexa realised the pair seemed familiar, but at this distance it was difficult to be sure. Deciding she had nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain if they knew Wanheda, Lexa strode forward.

The blonde had her back to Lexa, but as she neared the duo their conversation became quite clear.

“It’s fine Raven. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” The blonde’s shoulders were slumped and her head slightly bowed. Whatever it was she thought was fine, clearly wasn’t.

“It’s not fine and I _will_ worry about you if I want to. Don’t let your mum guilt you into dedicating your life to a career you’re not passionate about.”

_Wait… Raven? Surely it’s not that Raven. Is it?_

“Being a doctor would mean helping a lot of people. It’s something I can do. Something I’m really good at.”

“Trump is really good at being a racist, misogynistic, homophobic ignoramus. Doesn’t mean he should’ve built a career on it.”

Lexa had been hovering near some free weights, waiting for an opportune moment to approach the pair when a near explosive snort of laughter burst forth from her when she heard that comment.

Two sets of eyes trained on Lexa, who immediately recognised that yes, it was _that_ Raven. And Clarke Griffin. _The_ Clarke Griffin. Human personification of Aphrodite Clarke Griffin. Lexa tried to swallow, finding her mouth suddenly comparable to the Sahara desert. She knew she had come over with something say, and she was well aware that she looked rather odd just standing here staring at the pair. But this was Clarke Griffin. To be completely honest, Lexa wouldn’t have been able to tell you her own name if you asked her at that moment.

“No freaking way! The Commander herself.” Raven looked beyond delighted to see Lexa and immediately pulled her in for hug. Luckily, it was enough to snap her out of her fugue state.

“Raven Reyes. Good to see you with clothes on.”

_Fuck, shit, no. You did not just say that. Why Lexa? Why?_

But, alas, she had. Raven however, seemed to think it hilarious if her uproarious laughter was anything to go by. Clarke on the hand looked baffled, if slightly amused by her friend’s reaction.

“Oh Woods. I have missed you and that mouth of yours.” The gleam of mischief in Raven’s eyes let Lexa know she had inadvertently started a game of innuendo-chicken with the other brunette. Which was probably not going to end well for anyone.

“I take it you two know each other then? Biblically speaking?” Clarke quirked an eyebrow at Lexa, which was honestly such an attractive look on her Lexa seriously thought she might spontaneously combust.

“Yes. NO! I mean… we do know each other, but not er… like that.” Lexa cleared her throat and extended her arm out toward Clarke “I’m Lexa Woods, by the way.” Clarke regarded her outstretched hand for a brief moment before she took it with her own.

“Clarke. Clarke Griffin,” was the blonde’s reply, a cheeky grin playing at her lips.

Lexa knew that of course. They all attended the same university, and Clarke was kind of hard to miss.

Unfortunately for Lexa, she chose that moment to really take in Clarke’s appearance. Or she tried to. Once her eyes met Clarke’s, she lost herself drowning in blue. And Lexa really didn’t feel like coming up for air, despite the fact her lungs had stopped working and the space between the two of them was practically crackling with electricity.

“Yo Squid, where’d you disappear to?” Of course Anya would choose to make herself known at this precise moment. And embarrass Lexa in the process. She admitted to thinking squids were cute _one time_.

When Lexa realised she was still holding Clarke’s hand, she hastily dropped it, as it also occurred to her she’d probably been staring at Clarke way longer than would have been polite. But it did allow Lexa the opportunity to admire Clarke in gyms shorts and a training tee. It turned out Clarke had legs for days, and it was a sight Lexa wouldn’t soon forget.

_Jesus Lexa, you need to get your shit together and stop perving on that poor girl._

Anya ambled over to the trio once she spotted Lexa, making no effort to hide the way she was eyeing Raven up and down.

“Who are your new friends Lexie?” That infuriatingly smug look Anya so often wore was in full force at that moment, knowing how much Lexa hated that nickname, and how she usually ended up flailing about when conversing with one attractive woman, let alone two.

“Anya. So glad you could join us,” Lexa deadpanned. Now was not the time for Anya’s shenanigans. “This is Clarke, and Raven. We all study at Arkadia University.”

While Lexa was staring Anya down in an attempt to prevent her from making things even more uncomfortable, she missed the way Clarke’s expression twitched, surprised Lexa knew she was at Arkadia.

“Shut the front door! _The_ Raven? The one that posed nude in your life drawing class? You, my fair lady, are a freaking legend. I heard about you for months and I’ve to got to say –”

“Anya! You don’t need to say anything!” Lexa snapped.

All it took was one look between Raven and Anya for the pair of them to dissolve into laughter. Lexa did _not_ like this budding friendship. Not one bit.

In her second year of uni, Lexa had decided to branch out a little, broaden her horizons. So she had enrolled into an intro level drawing course, not knowing that life drawing referred to the art of drawing the human form from an observation of a model. Observation of Raven, in this case.

Raven had educated her on that point in no uncertain terms. She also seemed to take some sadistic pleasure from seeing how many times she could make Lexa blush in any given class.

Clearing her throat and attempting to regain some semblance of dignity while Anya and Raven continued to cackle and share stories about the class, Lexa turned to Clarke with a pained smile.

“Sorry about those two.” Lexa scratched at the back of her neck, feeling slightly embarrassed by the whole situation.

“It’s okay. I know Raven can be a handful. But it sounds like she was more of an eyeful in your case.”

And Lexa just cannot catch a break today.

“Mockery is not the product of strong mind Clarke.” She let her lips twitch upward at the corner, hoping to show she didn’t mind the playful banter.

If Lexa thought Clarke’s little eyebrow raise earlier was aggressively attractive, it had nothing on the smirk she was wearing now.

There was a pause in the conversation, mostly filled with Lexa’s uncomfortable shuffling as she considered how to approach Clarke with the question she’d come over to ask.

“Um, well, there was a reason I came over earlier. I, well, I heard you and Raven talking about Wanheda?”

_Smooth Lexa. Such a way with words._

“You did?” Clarkes tone was cautious, guarded.

“Yeah. And well, this may sound strange, but I was hoping you could put me in touch with them?”

“Why?” That same guarded attitude. Weird.

“Long story short: I work for a publishing house, and I would like to talk with Wanheda about their book. I read it, and I think it could really be something with a bit of polishing. But I can’t get in touch with them, and so when I heard you guys chatting… I hoped you knew them?”

“Oh.” Clarke paused for beat, seemingly considering her options “I do know her. I can let her know you want to talk to her. Do you have a card?” Ah, so Wanheda _is_ a woman. Interesting.

The 180 in Clarke’s demeanour threw Lexa for a second, but Clarke was willing to do her a huge favour, so she decided not to question it.

Lexa fished around in her gym bag for her purse, and pulled out her business card. She wrote her personal number on the back, knowing she wouldn’t be in the office for a few days.

“Thanks Clarke, I appreciate this. Can you also let her know that it’s kind of urgent?”

“Sure thing Lexa.”

“Thanks. Um… bye?”

“Bye.” Clarke was smirking at Lexa again, but it definitely held a hint of affection this time.

They stood there for a good few seconds, just smiling at each other. Lexa didn’t really want to leave, but she was aware that she had no reason to stay, so she slowly started to back off, still grinning like an idiot at Clarke. She tugged on Anya’s arm as she went, trying not to keep looking back at Clarke as she left the gym.

“God you’re awkward, Lexie.” Anya playfully bumped Lexa with her shoulder, causing her to almost trip over a treadmill. In return, Lexa stared at Anya with the most intimidating glower she could muster, but it had no effect on her. It never does.

“Shut up An.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey... would you look at that! I stuck to the time-frame! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading folks, and if you have any thoughts about the chapter, please feel free to share them here or on tumblr (@aussie-sass).
> 
> I would also like to thank Derivative for being the awesomest beta. You should check out her fic, its a great read.


	3. The Email

Lexa woke with a start as her phone alarm blared to life inches from her head. Not yet willing to wake up, Lexa blindly patted around the surface of her night stand until she found the irritating device. She briefly considered throwing it against the wall, but decided it would be too expensive to replace. And there was no guarantee her sleep addled limbs could throw hard enough to make the noise stop.

Swiping her thumb over the phone display, the alarm quietened and Lexa reluctantly opened her eyes to take in the world. A few rays of light were poking their way around the edges of her curtains, bathing the room in a soft glow. But it was _cold_. The areas of her body not tucked under the duvet were stinging in protest. Lexa rolled over onto her back, making sure all her limbs were safely tucked in and warm, and stared up at the ceiling in deep contemplation.

There had been no word from Wanheda over the weekend, or Clarke for that matter. Not that Lexa had been harbouring any hopes that Clarke would contact her. None at all. It wasn’t like Lexa had used contacting Wanheda as a sly way of giving Clarke her number. Who would do that? Not Lexa, that’s for sure.

But no contact from Wanheda meant Lexa was now doomed to work with Pike. Perhaps doomed was too strong a word. Indra clearly had faith in Lexa’s abilities as an editor if she was giving her such an important client, but the man was an ignorant buffoon. He managed to grate on every single one of Lexa’s nerves. It was almost impressive how infuriating he was. Lexa closed her eyes again and sighed.

_I am a professional, and I will act like one. I can do this. I won’t have to work with Pike forever._

Lexa had a sinking feeling in her gut that this would become her daily mantra.

Before her mood could worsen, Lexa ripped off the warm comfort of the duvet. She quickly hopped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, pausing only to turn the heating on. After a hot shower, muesli breakfast, and strong coffee, Lexa was in a much better mind set to face her day. Returning to her bedroom she took a pair of grey slacks out of her wardrobe and pulled them on, along with a light blue collared shirt, and a dark blue sweater. Lexa decided to wear her hair up, she had a feeling today was going to be hard enough without having to deal with stray hairs.

Before leaving for work, Lexa gathered her laptop from the kitchen table. She had spent most of her weekend there preparing a contract for Wanheda. It was unlikely she was going to need it now, but maybe she could use it as a template for any future authors. You know, on the off chance Lexa managed to survive working with Pike and keep her job.

Less than 20 minutes later, Lexa had arrived at work, and the big glass doors at the entrance of Polis Publishing House slid open with barely a whisper. It was slightly disturbing how smooth those doors were. Lexa had been walking through them for a few months now, and they still creeped her out. Eerie doors aside, Lexa slowed her pace considerably when she saw Indra standing by the elevator bank. Lexa was not ready to admit defeat, not before she had officially started work.

So Lexa loitered around the lobby for a few minutes until Indra had disappeared into the metal confines of the elevator. Lexa was normally one for taking the stairs, but when your office is on the 23rd floor of a building, it’s a little impractical. While she waited for the next one, Lexa considered how to approach Indra. She could ask for more time, as Indra had really only given her the weekend to find Wanheda. Lexa had at least made some progress in stumbling upon an acquaintance of the author. Perhaps it would be enough to convince Indra to ~~stay her execution~~ extend her deadline.

Then again, Indra was hardly sold on the idea of trying to publish a manuscript from the reject pile. And she had a point, there was a reason the rest of the books were there. There had to be something wrong with a manuscript for it to end up in the reject pile. A lack of plot, an overused premise, unsalvageable writing, or themes inconsistent with the values of the imprint.

Which raised the question of why Wanheda’s manuscript was among them. It was well written, the plot was compelling, the relationships were realistic, and the characters had depth. Unless… unless it was cast aside because of the Sapphic relationship toward the end of the story. Polis, as well as the Trikru imprint, had both published books with erotic content before now. But as far as Lexa could tell, all those books had followed heterosexual relationships.

And suddenly it all made sense. Whoever put the manuscript in the reject pile had done so because the main character was bisexual, and the author hadn’t censored a single aspect of it. The revelation made Lexa’s blood boil.

The middle elevator pinged, and the doors receded to allow Lexa entry. She stabbed at the 23rd button and moved to stand further back in the compartment. As she rose through the building people got on and off at various floors, but Lexa continued to formulate her plan. She would make sure this book was published, and that it got as much attention as possible from the literary community. Because goddammit the LGBT+ community deserved better. Wanheda deserved better, and Lexa deserved better. And she was not going to take no for an answer.

The elevated stopped at Lexa’s floor and she strode out, determination giving her the confidence she lacked this morning. But Lexa wasn’t ready to face Indra just yet. She had to do some research first. She needed to make sure her offer to Indra was too good to refuse.

Deciding on a route through the office that would reduce her chances of running into Indra, Lexa found herself cutting across the staff room, surreptitiously making her way closer to her office. As she rounded a corner into a hallway, Lexa saw the familiar figure of her boss just about to exit a co-workers office.

_Of course. Why would she stick to routine the one time I need her to?_

Luckily Indra was still facing the occupant, giving Lexa time to reverse her course. Which took her straight into the chest of a lanky, oily guy in a wrinkled shirt, left unbuttoned to reveal a printed tee. A printed tee emblazoned with the image of a naked woman draped over a motorbike. Classy. But not her problem.

Lexa took a step back, glancing up at the man’s face, his long, greasy hair and boyish grin. And the slightly red tint to his eyes. He was younger than she initially thought, barely old enough to work for the company. And not particularly committed to the job, if his attire was anything to go by.

“Shit, sorry. Didn’t see you.” The boy rocked back on his heels as he spoke, his eyes glassy and unfocused; his hands fiddling with a phone held between them. He was high. At work. Once again: Classy.

But also not Lexa’s problem.

What was her problem, was Indra’s imminent arrival. After placing her hands on the boy’s arms, Lexa spun them around to swap their positions, his height shielding her from any passing glances. What she didn’t plan for was the boy’s disastrously poor balance, which would have resulted in both of them in a heap on the floor, had Lexa not been able to hold most of his weight.

Keeping an eye out over the boy’s shoulder, Lexa waited for Indra to move past the corridor.

“Dude… what are you doing? Who are we hiding from?” His voice was hushed, sort of. It was like a whisper, if it had been shouted across a room.

“Quiet. Please. I just need you for a minute, then you can go back your… work.” Where was Indra? She should have passed them by now.

“Yeah, yeah all g little miss.” Well, at least it was much closer to a whisper this time.

Lexa was in the middle of a hearty eye-roll when Indra passed the pair in the corridor, she barely had time to duck down behind the cover of the boy’s shoulder before she could be seen. At which point Lexa realised precisely how ridiculous she was being. She was literally hiding from her boss behind a teenager. Now who was the classy one?

This was so, utterly, _not_ who she wanted to be. Not who she is.

Taking a step back from the boy, Lexa cleared her throat and straightened up her shirt.

“Thank you… for helping me. I appreciate it…?” Lexa trailed off, realising she had no clue what the boy’s name was. As she should have expected, he wasn’t wearing an ID badge.

“Yeah, all good. You can use me anytime.” The boy smirked, clearly impressed with himself, and wandered back down the corridor. Lexa stared after him as he went, noticing the skiing goggles hanging off his belt. Strange kid.

Lexa quickly made her way to her office without further incident. She placed her bag down and switched on her computer and waited for it to boot up completely. She then sent an email to Indra, requesting a meeting during the day. The reply came with a suggested time of 11 am, which was probably enough time for Lexa to gather all the information she would need. Lexa clicked the accept button and settled back into her chair to begin her research.

Nearly two hours later Lexa’s computer chimed with the appointment reminder. She quickly looked over her notes again, feeling satisfied with her argument. The numbers were clear, the imprint needed to change its policy, and Lexa wasn’t going to stop fighting until it did.

Her earlier focused confidence returned as Lexa strode through the corridors to Indra’s office. She knocked on the door frame before taking half a step inside the room.

“Ah Lexa, I’ll be finished in a moment. Please take a seat.”

Lexa did as instructed and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk to Indra. She waited for her boss to finish up her call, with someone who was most likely in finance, judging by the content of the conversation Lexa was privy to. Indra ended the call and turned her full attention back to Lexa, who tried not to fidget too much under the intensity of the woman’s gaze.

“So, Lexa, what did you want to speak to me about?”

_Errr… shit. What was I going to say?_

_Something about-_

_Lesbians!_

_I want more lesbians._

_And bi girls, and trans girls, and poly girls, and all types of queer girls. And boys. And non-binary people._

Indra was peering at Lexa with an expectant quirk to her eyebrow, which brought Lexa back to the present moment. She had a job to do.

“I wanted to speak to you about the manuscript I was reading last week. I’ve made an interesting discovery.”

Indra nodded, indicating Lexa should continue.

“I managed to contact an associate of the author, but I am still waiting to hear back from her.” Indra drew in a breath, about to say something, but Lexa needed to say her piece. “But, I think there is a more important issue. There is something inherently wrong with the culture of this organisation.”

Indra’s expression was guarded, but Lexa saw some curiosity in her gaze. So, she swallowed down her apprehension and told Indra what she had discovered.

“In the last six years, Polis and all of its imprints have published two books with LGBT characters. And neither of those two characters could be considered a main. In fact, one of them was a villain.”

Lexa took a beat, feeling her temper start to rise. She needed to keep calm and logical if she was going to make any head way here. Indra responded well to facts and reason, not emotions. However, the smile growing on Indra’s face nearly sent Lexa into a panic.

“Interesting you should say that. I had a very similar discussion with my wife a few days ago.”

 _Her what now? Indra’s_ married _? To a woman? How did I not know this?!_

“Y-you did?” Lexa couldn’t help the small stutter. This was not going how she imagined, and she had no idea where she stood anymore.

“Yes. It’s actually part of the reason I applied for this position. It gives me more control over what this imprint publishes, and the briefs that we send out to our contracted authors. Part of my goal here is to increase the amount and diversity of healthy and respectful representations in the books we publish. I’m assuming there are some LGBT themes in the manuscript you’re reading?” The fire that seemed to alight in Indra’s eyes as she spoke told Lexa all she needed to know. She had found an ally here. A kindred spirit.

“The story follows a bisexual woman through several of her relationships. It’s a very honest story, I suspect largely inspired by the author’s own experiences. She discusses her period of self-discovery, her romantic relationships and sexual experimentations. It’s the story of how she came to accept herself, and how it gave her the freedom to fall in love. It’s a beautiful story, insightful and well written.” Lexa looked away from Indra for a moment, needing a reprieve from her piercing gaze.

“What are you asking? What do you need from me?”

“More time. I’ve made progress with my search for the author, but I need more time for my message to get to her. I’ve drafted a contract; it’s ready to go if you want to look over it?”

Indra nodded her head. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“You have your time. Email me a copy of the contract and get the manuscript loaded into the system in an electronic format.”

_Well that went better than I expected._

Lexa felt almost giddy with excitement. She was going to publish this book. That is, if the author wants to be published. She tamped down her high hopes, this wasn’t a done deal yet.

Lexa thanked Indra profusely before she left, but the older woman waved it off, saying it was the right thing to do.

Lexa stopped by the staff room to make herself a coffee, now that she had five minutes to spare. She relished the first sip, feeling the stress of the morning melt away. She shouldn’t have doubted Indra. She was a good woman. A tough boss, but an incredible mentor.

She was leaning against the kitchen counter, about to take her second sip, when Lexa felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a notification for an email. Probably nothing urgent. While Lexa finished her coffee, she quietly watched as people flitted around the office, doing this or that. She wondered if any of them were responsible for the rejection of Wanheda’s manuscript.

When she returned to her office, Lexa set about sending the draft contract to Indra, giving it one last proof read before she emailed it. Once she was satisfied with the document, Lexa opened her inbox, and stopped in her tracks.

One new email.

Sender: Wanheda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks again for reading :D 
> 
> Unfortunately, this chapter hasn’t been checked by my lovely beta yet, mostly because I left it way too late to give her enough time to read it before I had to post it. So, all mistakes in here are mine. Please let me know if there is anything that needs to be fixed. 
> 
> On that note, I’m not exactly in love with this chapter, so if you have any thoughts or comments, please share. I’m using this fic as a learning tool to improve my writing, so I’m always open to hearing suggestions.


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